


Instincts

by stephanieh



Category: The Avengers (Marvel Movies), The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: Crack, Domestic Avengers, Domestic Fluff, Fluff, Gen, Humor, Pets, Post-Avengers: Age of Ultron (Movie), Slightly AUish probably idk i'm not an expert
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-05-07
Updated: 2015-05-07
Packaged: 2018-03-29 10:04:14
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,117
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3892270
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/stephanieh/pseuds/stephanieh
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When a newly-stray cat is adopted by the Avengers, she bestows herself on a reluctant favorite.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Instincts

Natasha didn’t know why she picked her up at first.

The skirmish with some creeps from AIM hadn’t been much in the grand scheme of things, but it had been enough to crumble a few stoops in the Upper East Side. She had been huddled beneath the twisted frame of what was once a very expensive car, alone and crying sadly when Natasha came across her. Natasha couldn't just leave her.

But it was the team's reaction that had been enough to chase away any doubts she had.

“Hey Nat, you take care of those -- is that a _cat?”_ Tony demanded, dropping his chopsticks mid-bite and scrambling backwards over his seat.

“Wow! No wonder they call you a supergenius,” Clint muttered.

“We’re keeping her,” Natasha stated.

“Uh, _no--”_ Tony started.

“Is that a cat?” Steve cut in as he entered the lounge.

“America’s Most Famous Superheroes, everyone! Able to spot any breed of common household animals from-- _ow!”_ Clint yelped, rubbing his ear where Natasha had flicked it. “What did we say about you man-handling?”

“What did you say about man-handling, because I have a complaint to file regarding- whoa, _whoa, ughah!_   Get this monstrosity away from me!” Tony shouted, kicking out as the cat raced towards him, swatting at his pant legs and hissing.

“I like it,” Steve declared.

“I don’t!” Tony shouted. He continued to back up until he was standing on the minibar.

“It’s only a cat, Tony,” Bruce reasoned, looking over the top of his glasses. He folded his newspaper and stood up from where he was perched on the window seat. Squatting down, he reached out an inviting hand.

 _“Ruuuw-ah,”_ the cat said, its tail immediately un-fluffing as it trotted over to Bruce.

“It can tell if you’re nervous,” he finished as the cat rubbed against his hand.

“That doesn’t help, oddly enough.”

“Well, you better get used to it. She’s staying,” Natasha insisted, watching Bruce’s expression smooth over as the cat purred under his touch.

Tony shot her a pleading look and started to reply but instead he slipped on a stray napkin which had been laying on the bar. His fall was a graceful one, but for all its beauty it didn’t hurt any less.

While Tony struggled to extract himself, Steve picked his way across the room to where the cat was rubbing against Bruce’s leg lovingly. “I was really allergic to cats before the serum,” he said absently as he reached out a tentative hand. “Haven’t had a chance to meet any since.”

“I think it’s charming,” Thor boomed cheerily, sending the cat scurrying behind Bruce’s legs. Everyone present shot him a chastising look. “Oh, _oh- I think it’s charming,”_ he whispered. “ _We do not keep such…_ skittish _pets on Asgard.”_

“Fine,” Tony grumbled, brushing himself off angrily. “But as soon as I find dead mice in the workshop I’m donating it to the nearest shelter.”

The cat did not heed his threat. She simply crept into a bewildered Bruce’s lap and made herself comfortable, basking in the morning light streaming through the window.

*** 

 

 _“Meow,”_ the cat said.

Bruce stopped walking, turning to his newly instated shadow. The cat had been following him around for the past week whenever he was in the mansion, and sometimes when he wasn't.

 _“Meow,”_ the cat repeated, purring as it rubbed against Bruce’s leg. _“Meow.”_

“Looks like you have a new friend,” Natasha said from the end of the hall, causing Bruce to jump. He could never get used to how softly she walked. She smiled apologetically.

“Oh, well,” Bruce stuttered. “I’m sure she’ll get tired of me as soon as she figures out which of us has the food.”

Natasha hummed. “I don’t think it’s that,” she said, shooting him a look.

Bruce raised his eyebrows. “What, you think she can sense the Other Guy? That she knows that I’m an animal just like her... well, more so than the rest of you?”

“Yes,” Natasha said.

Bruce snorted. “She’d turn tail and run if she did. Cats know when a thing is dangerous in a way humans could never dream of,” he mumbled, turning away.

“Maybe she would run,” Natasha replied gently. “Or maybe she sees something in you that you can’t see.” Quirking her lip into a coy smile she strode away, leaving a frowning Bruce in her wake.

He wrung his fingers as he squinted down at the cat.

 _“Meow,”_ the cat said.

***

  
The next fight with AIM couldn’t be contained by Widow alone. It took all six Avengers, a few stray SHIELD personnel, and Spiderman. The fight brought itself all the way to the mansion, doing considerable damage to both their humble abode and their PR efforts.

All and all, it was a long day.

And as the bad guys were packed away in the back of an armored van, Tony remembered something very important.

“Hey, has anyone seen Cat?” he inquired over the comm.

Steve glanced around towards the others. “Cat.”

 _“Hulk,”_ they all chorused.

Over the past few weeks, Cat had grown on all of them- even Tony, though he was loathe to admit it. He kept threatening to toss her out on the streets if she didn’t learn how to use the litterbox properly, but Steve had caught him sneaking her bits of chicken under the table during dinner.

Cat, however, had remained unswervingly loyal to Bruce in particular. It had obviously thrown Bruce off- having an animal that should’ve sensed him as a threat imprint on him on sight instead. But for all his skittishness about things that can be broken, it was plain to see that he had developed a soft spot for Cat, too.

None of them wanted Bruce suffer the aftermath if the Hulk stumbled across Cat in what was left of the Mansion. Natasha was off at once, wading the rubble in search of the Hulk.

One would think it wouldn’t be hard to find a giant green rage monster in a relatively medium-sized building- but it took all of them scrambling through piles of red bricks and expensive furnishings for what felt was much too long before they finally found him.

The Hulk was in a small valley of wreckage- apparently where the lounge used to be. He was sitting cross legged on the ground, cradling what looked to be a ball of grey fur in one hand- with the other he used one finger to stroke a very happy looking Cat between the ears. He hummed tunelessly along with her purring, which was loud enough the team could hear it twenty feet away where they stood, gaping.

“JARIVS,” Tony muttered. “Record this.”

" _It would be my pleasure, sir._ "

 

 

**Author's Note:**

> Have you ever noticed how hard it is to write fic for a fandom you know virtually nothing about? Because I have.


End file.
